Beta Test This! Tether

Tether announced earlier today that they have a beta version of their Android app ready for public consumption. Unlike the previous time, this release is open to the public. According to the developers, they have been seeing speeds roughly 40% faster than their competition. Now that they’ve been able to address major bugs and issues, the focus has shifted to features like Bluetooth, a Mac Version and “hopefully even WiFi”.

Want to try it out? Here’s what you have to do:

Download and install the Tether PC software. We strongly recommend if you were using TetherBerry or a previous version of Tether to uninstall before installing this version.http://tether.com/a/setup.exe (If asked to reboot, wait until the installer is fully finished)

Download the software onto your Android by visiting the following URL in your browser: http://tether.com/a/tether.apk Then run the file. It may ask you for permission to run software from outside of the Android Marketplace, make sure to give it permission.

Run Tether on the PC and select Android, then USB for the connection method. Then connect your Android to the computer with a USB cable and run Tether on your Android. The two should establish a connection and you should see data being sent and received on your PC.

So now to the topic of cost and licensing. According to Tether, existing customers will be able to get the Android version at a “huge” discount and at a different rate than current BlackBerry customers. Android version will be transferable to any other device, should you upgrade or lose your handset.

Before everyone gets all giddy, I would like to remind people that the providers (Sprint/AT&T/Verizon, etc..) are watching data rates and it is very easy to tell you are tethering looking at traffic data. They will bill you or turn your service off if they catch you and I have seen MANY posts all over the web of this happening more and more frequently. I would recommend waiting until it is offcially supported by your phone and carrier. Otherwise your risking a lot for some data usage.

One particular case I saw was a guy who was billed over $1200 in charges because he was tethering on the Verizon network. I have also seen many cases on Sprint's network as well.

There is a reason they charge for the mobile hotspots and trying to get around it can be costly.